How To Make Homemade Baby Food

I am in that phase again.  The phase that is sandwiched between your baby eating no solids and your baby feeding herself.

The not-enough-hands phase.

The I-eat-after-everyone-else phase.

The my-baby-is-always-hungry-while-I-cook phase.

The Baby Food Phase.

Here’s a confession.  I was dreading this phase.

A baby not yet on solids is so easy.  And a baby that can begin to feed herself is so convenient.

A baby that needs to be spoon fed, constantly have her chin wiped, and is literally always starving right when I’m in the middle of something?  Sigh.

But it is a phase.  And the definition of a phase is probably something like “a temporary situation.”

And knowing my confusing, sentimental self…I will probably cry when this “inconvenient” phase is over.  🙂

Lord, forgive me for not treasuring these precious moments.

All that being said, I wanted to share with you how I make homemade baby food and what some of my (and her!) favorite recipes are.

I like to make a big batch of baby food about once a month.  It freezes well, and honestly I don’t think I would stick with the homemade version if I had to whip some up every day.

So about once a month, I spend a few hours making a whole assortment (and a lot of it) of baby food.

One of the most handy-dandy tips that any more-experienced mom has ever given me is the Ice Cube Tray Method of making baby food.

Once you have cooked, pureed, and cooled your baby food, you simply drop some spoonfuls into an ice cube tray and freeze it.  When it’s frozen, you just pop it out; it makes the perfect portion size for baby!

And storing frozen baby food that is in the shape of ice cubes allows you to be so organized and space-conscious.  I store each “flavor” in its own ziploc freezer bag.

So here are Baby Mae’s most requested mushy meals:

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Sweet Potato With Apple and Cinnamon

I’m going to sound like a total liar now, but this dish I actually make on the spot…I don’t make it ahead of time.

It’s just so quick and easy.

1. Start with a small sweet potato and pierce with a fork all over.
2. Cook in the microwave for about 7 minutes.
3. Let it cool, then scrape out the innards.
4. Mash the sweet potato with a fork.  Then add the magic:  unsweetened applesauce and a dash of cinnamon.

Delicious!  And there’s nothing cuter than an orange-stained face.   🙂

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Carrots and Apple

This is another yummy orange recipe.

1. Steam a whole bunch of baby carrots until they’re very soft.
2. Puree in a blender or food processor.
3. Once they’re cool, either freeze them in ice cube trays or serve with unsweetened applesauce stirred in.  Yum!

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Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Spinach

Now if this doesn’t sound healthy, I don’t know what does.  In fact, it’s so inhumanly healthy that this definitely the only time in her entire life that she would eat it.  🙂

1. Chop up some zucchini and yellow squash and steam them real good, until they’re soft.
2. While those are cooking, boil a big bag of frozen, chopped spinach.
3. Drain everything when it’s done and dump it all in a blender or food processor.
4. It won’t take much pulsing to get it smooth.
5. Serve, or freeze!  In my opinion, it needs a whole lot of cheese and salt.  🙂

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Avocado and Banana

This is a nice easy meal that requires no cooking, just mashing with a fork!

We eat this almost every day for lunch.

Simply mash half of an avocado and half of a banana and mix together.  Make sure the avocado and the banana are very ripe.

She loves this one!

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Baby Smoothie

This is the best smelling one by far.  🙂  And after eating this, even her burps smell good.

Mash half of a banana and puree two strawberries.

Mix it all together with about a tablespoon of unsweetened applesauce.  Your baby will go baby crazy.  🙂

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Baby Oatmeal

I just realized that I made this list backwards…I went dinner, lunch, and then breakfast.  Oh well.

This oatmeal is way better than that nasty boxed Gerber stuff.

1. Bring a small pot of water (about 1 cup) to a boil.
2. Add in enough oats (I use a combination of rolled oats and steel cut oats) to fill in most of the water and return to a boil.  Cook until all water is absorbed.
3. Once it’s cooked, stir it and add in enough almond milk or water to make it fairly creamy.
4. Top with a dash of cinnamon and some unsweetened applesauce.  And the best part is you get to eat what’s left in the pot!

These homemade baby food cubes have been a great, healthy alternative to buying jarred food.  Not to mention the amount of money saved.

And just one more quick tip…I find it easier to just make the fruity foods and oatmeal on the spot.  I freeze all of the “cooked” foods ahead of time because they are more time-consuming to prepare.

Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to making your own baby food.  There are so many more yummy recipes than what I have listed here.

I would love to hear any other good ones out there…especially some that are a little out of the box!

Lauren Souers

Hi, my name is Lauren. I am the wife of one fine man and the momma of four (huge) young children – three boys and one princess! I love all of them. I mostly clean up messes and feed people all day, and it’s really fun to write about it. Jesus is the rock of my family – we love and serve a mighty King! I hope you leave here full of hope that “tired” can be good.